Garden Design Trend #1 – “Keeping it Low Maintenance”

Each year Garden Design Magazine comes out with their top ten list of landscape trends for the upcoming year. Over the next few weeks we will be highlighting a different trend. First up? Keeping your landscape “low maintenance”.

During almost every landscape consultation homeowners request that we “keep it low maintenance”. This is an important request because it tells us what level of care the suggested plants and design elements (patios, etc.) should be. Our lives are very busy and we want your landscape to be successful for you. Any information provided ahead of time about how much time you would like to invest in your landscape is important.

While there is no such thing as a “no maintenance” landscape (plants and lawns are alive after all and require SOME level of care) it is possible to choose landscape plants that require very little care. All plants will need to be trimmed each year. This increases their health by removing damaged or broken stems/branches and keeps their size down over time. Even perennials and grasses will need to be cut back once a year. However, many only need to be pruned once a year, often while dormant, meaning that you will have to invest SOME time, or money if you would like us to maintain them. If we know you are not looking for something that requires a lot of care we can plan for that ahead of time. By choosing plants that are low maintenance that means more time for you to do the things YOU like to.

It is a common misconception that low maintenance is boring. This does not have to be the case! We are trained horticulturalists that have extensive plant knowledge. We can choose plants for you that still have a wide variety of colors and textures, even deer resistance, but just require less care. So if the “low maintenance” trend is what you are looking for let us know during your consultation and we will customize it for you!